Posted by Joshua on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Aleppo after two car bombs: Ehsani writes on Sunday, “Aleppo back to normal today. People learning to live with this stuff. Becoming like the Lebanese.”

Ayman al-Zawahri addresses Syrias, urging Muslims to fight for their Syrian brothers and urging Syrians to fight for freedom and liberation and to take heart in the support of the Muslim Umma against the cancerous and deeply sectarian regime of the Assads. “Wounded Syria is still bleeding day after day, and the butcher (Assad) isn’t deterred and doesn’t stop,” said Zawahri,

al-Qaida’s Plans for Syria: It is worth reading what al-Qaida strategists planned for Syria back in 2006. They believed that Syria would become the battleground after Iraq. Here are a few excerpts from the Quoted Wright article:

Al Qaeda, he writes, also expects the Americans to go after Iran’s principal ally in the region, Syria. The removal of the Assad regime—a longtime goal of jihadis—will allow the country to be infiltrated by Al Qaeda, putting the terrorists within reach, at last, of Israel….

The third stage, “Arising and Standing Up,” will last from 2007 to 2010. Al Qaeda’s focus will be on Syria and Turkey, but it will also begin to directly confront Israel, in order to gain more credibility among the Muslim population.

WASHINGTON — The Iraqi branch of al Qaida, seeking to exploit the bloody turmoil in Syria to reassert its potency, carried out two recent bombings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and likely was behind suicide bombings Friday that killed at least 28 people in the largest city, Aleppo, U.S. officials told McClatchy.

The officials cited U.S. intelligence reports on the incidents, which appear to verify Syrian President Bashar Assad’s charges of al Qaida involvement in the 11-month uprising against his rule. The Syrian opposition has claimed that Assad’s regime, which has responded with massive force against the uprising, staged the bombings to discredit the pro-democracy movement calling for his ouster.

The international terrorist network’s presence in Syria also raises the possibility that Islamic extremists will try to hijack the uprising, which would seriously complicate efforts by the United States and its European and Arab partners to force Assad’s regime from power. On Friday, President Barack Obama repeated his call for Assad to step down, accusing his forces of “outrageous bloodshed.”…

The U.S. officials said that AQI and Zawahiri apparently see Syria’s turmoil as an opportunity to reassert themselves after the battering the core group has taken with the death of bin Laden and the killing and capture of key operatives in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

They “are seeing space, seeing a vacuum, and opportunity to bounce back and they are taking advantage of it,” said the first U.S. official.

The U.S. intelligence reports indicate that the bombings came on the orders of Ayman al Zawahiri, the Egyptian extremist who assumed leadership of al Qaida’s Pakistan-based central command after the May 2011 death of Osama bin Laden. They suggest that Zawahiri still wields considerable influence over the network’s affiliates despite the losses the Pakistan-based core group has suffered from missile-firing CIA drones and other intensified U.S. counterterrorism operations.

In an eight-minute video clip titled “Onward, Lions of Syria” disseminated on the Internet Feb. 12, al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri expressed al Qaeda’s support for the popular unrest in Syria. In it, al-Zawahiri urged Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan to aid the Syrian rebels battling Damascus. The statement comes just days after a McClatchy report quoted unnamed American intelligence officials as saying that the Iraqi node of the global jihadist network carried out two attacks against Syrian intelligence facilities in Damascus, while Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi said in a recent interview with AFP that Iraqi jihadists were moving fighters and weapons into neighboring Syria.

Al Qaeda’s long-term goal has been to oust Arab governments to facilitate the return of a transnational caliphate. Its tactics have involved mainly terrorism intended to cause U.S. intervention in the region. Al Qaeda has hoped such interventions would in turn incite popular uprisings that would bring down the Arab regimes, opening the way for the jihadists to eventually take power. But the jihadist network’s efforts have failed and they have remained a marginal player in the Arab world. By addressing Syria, al Qaeda hopes to tap into the past year of Arab unrest, a movement in which it played little to no part….

It is by no means inevitable that jihadists will flourish in Syria and use it as a launching pad to undermine regional security. The Syrian state is still very much holding, and rebel forces remain divided and do not appear capable of serious advances against the government….

In a video message, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called for Muslims to rally for a war to oust Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. …The regime has long blamed terrorists for the 11-month-old revolt, and Zawahiri’s endorsement creates new difficulties for the US, its Western allies and Arab states trying to figure out a way to help force Assad from power….

After Friday’s bombings in Aleppo, Zuheir al-Atasi, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council, accused the government of staging the attacks. “After the heavy explosions, members of the opposition went to the site to film it. There were ambulances but no corpses. We documented that on tape,” he said in Vienna during a gathering of Syrian opposition groups. “When the Syrian National TV arrived they started to bring out corpses. Once again we witnessed a theater play.”…

Thomas Pierret writes:

A video released yesterday on Youtube shows civilians walking beside a tank in a street of Saqba (eastern suburbs of Damascus) earlier in February. That the civilians are unarmed, and that they stand in the middle of the road while soldiers shelter on the sides lead to one obvious conclusion: they are used as human shields. Since such an advanced tank is extremely well protected (it is impenetrable to RPGs), one of the only ways to destroy it is to detonate a massive roadside bomb (as Syrian insurgents did with some success in Homs, Rastan and Zabadani), but in this case it would kill all the hostages.

BEIRUT — The Arab League called Sunday for the creation of a joint Arab-United Nations peacekeeping mission to halt the escalating violence in Syria, as Syrian government forces sustained their assault against protest strongholds in the city of Homs and elsewhere.

CAIRO – Syria on Sunday “categorically” rejected the decision by Arab foreign ministers to back the Syrian opposition and call for a joint UN-Arab peacekeeping mission, the Syrian ambassador to Cairo said.

“The Syrian Arab Republic categorically rejects the decisions of the Arab League” which he said “reflects the hysteria of these governments” after failing to get foreign intervention at the UN Security Council, Yusef Ahmed said in a statement…

Bahrain’s King Hamad dismissed the country’s opposition movement as disunited and said the threat of Iran had compelled him to call in foreign troops to crush last year’s uprising.

“In a sense there is no ‘opposition’ in Bahrain, as the phrase implies one unified block with the same views,” the king said extracts from an interview with Der Spiegel. “Such a phrase is not in our constitution, unlike say the United Kingdom….

The Arab Peace Plan

CAIRO: Arabs will end their observer mission to Syria and will ask the UN Security Council to send an international peacekeeping force to end the bloodshed there, according to a draft resolution obtained by Reuters on Sunday.

Arab ministers met in Cairo to revive diplomatic efforts after Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution that called for President Bashar al-Assad to step aside. That resolution was based on an Arab peace plan and had Western backing.

The draft resolution also called for tighter implementation of economic sanctions Arabs previously imposed on Syria, halting diplomatic cooperation with Syria and called for providing aid and political support to the Syrian people.

As part of the Arab efforts, Tunisia said it would host the first meeting on Feb. 24 of a “Friends of Syria” contact group made up of Arab and other states and backed by Western powers.
“How long will we stay as onlookers to what is happening to the brotherly Syrian people, and how much longer will we grant the Syrian regime one period after another so it can commit more massacres against its people?” Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal asked ministers at the start of the League session.

“At our meeting today I call for decisive measures, after the failure of the half-solutions,” he said. “The Arab League should … open all channels of communication with the Syrian opposition and give all forms of support to it.”

The draft proposed scrapping the Arab monitoring mission which had been sent to Syria in late December but which was criticised by Syria’s opposition as ineffective from the outset. It also faced internal dissent and logistical problems.

The Sudanese general leading the observers quit on Sunday. “I won’t work one more time in the framework of the Arab League,” General Mohammed al-Dabi, whose appointment had been criticised because of Sudan’s own rights record, told Reuters. “I performed my job with full integrity and transparency but I won’t work here again as the situation is skewed,” he added.

The draft resolution instead called for “the UN Security Council to send an international peacekeeping force to Syria”.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby told the ministers he was proposing a new joint Arab-UN monitoring team to Syria, an idea he has already proposed to the UN secretary-general. That plan has drawn only lukewarm support from diplomats in New York.

BEIRUT — Gunmen assassinated an army general in Damascus on Saturday in the first killing of a high ranking military officer in the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March, the state-run news agency said.

SANA said three gunmen opened fire at Brig. Gen. Issa al-Khouli in the morning as he left his home in the Damascus neighborhood of Rukn-Eddine. Al-Khouli was a doctor and the chief of a military hospital in the capital. No one claimed responsibility for the killing.

Ehsani writes: “Egypt stocks largest rise globally in jan 2012. They were up 28 percent. I guess salafists are not so bad for business after all.

In normal life, they are farmers or ordinary workers – many are young and inexperienced military – as well as Fouad. The 23-year-old mechanic. Now he’s fighting on the front line. “You’re surrounded,” says the rebel leader at the checkpoints. “Come out and join us!” The answer: shots.

Determined to take the post, the rebels pull a hand grenade. Suddenly, the advance is stopped abruptly: Fouad has been hit. They desperately try to get him out of the firing line. The assault fails. Now they are fighting for Fouads life. But when they arrived at the hospital, he is dead – just like many other fighters who are there taken to. “The Arab honor is not there anymore,” said a rebel and does Assad responsible for this. “He’s a dog,” complained one woman. “Assad is nothing more than a dog!”

As night falls, the families come to mourn their fathers, sons and brothers. Then, under cover of darkness, they carry the dead to the grave.

At least 28 people were killed when two explosions ripped through state security buildings in Aleppo yesterday, widening Syria’s conflict to a regime stronghold which has so far escaped major unrest.

One of the blasts tore through a street outside the city’s Military Intelligence Directorate. Footage broadcast by state television showed rubble strewn over the road and five corpses lying under blankets to one side of the street.

According to a state TV presenter, who was filmed crying as the footage was beamed back, a number of children playing in a nearby park were killed in the attack. It was not possible to confirm the account.

The second blast hit a police headquarters in another part of the city. State media said at least 175 people were injured in the explosion.

The government blamed the blasts, the first since three similar attacks hit Damascus in December and January, killing dozens, on “terrorists”. Opposition figures, however, accused the Baathist regime of staging the incidents to try to undermine the opposition.

FALLUJA, Iraq — Not so long ago, Syrians worked to send weapons and fighters into Iraq to help Sunnis fighting a sectarian conflict; suddenly, it is the other way around.

A belated celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday on the outskirts of this western Iraqi city on Saturday quickly took on the trappings of a rally for Syria’s rebels. Young boys waved the old green, black and white flag Syria adopted in the 1930s after declaring independence from the French. Others collected money to send aid and weapons to the fighters opposing President Bashar al-Assad’s government across the border.

“I wish I could go there with my gun and fight,” said Sheik Hamid al-Hais, a tribal leader interviewed at his compound in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province.

It is increasingly clear that Syria’s sectarian war is becoming the regional conflict that analysts have long feared. The rush of recent events — including bombings and assassinations in Damascus and Aleppo, and intensifying violence in northern Lebanon coming directly out of the sectarian hostilities in Syria — suggest that the Assad government now also faces antagonists across its borders.

Like Iraq and Afghanistan before it, analysts say, Syria is likely to become the training ground for a new era of international conflict, and jihadists are already signing up. This weekend, Al Qaeda’s ideological leadership and, more troublingly, the more mainstream Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, called for jihadists around the world to fight Mr. Assad’s government.

Nowhere is the cross-border nature of sectarian hostilities more clear than in Iraq’s western desert, where Sunni Arabs are beginning to rally to the cause of the Syrian opposition and, in the process, perhaps strengthen their hand in dealings with an antagonistic Shiite-led national government in Baghdad.

A weapons dealer who operates in Anbar, who said he goes by the alias Ahmed al-Masri, said, “Five months ago I was told that the Syrian brothers are in need of weapons. I started to buy the weapons from the same guys that I previously sold to — the fighters of Anbar and Mosul. I used to bring them from Syria; now it’s the other way around.”

A New Transition Council is to be Established, according to “Syria Politic”. It will call for Jihad

General Mustafa al-Sheikh, the highest ranked military defector who set up a military leadership under the name of the “Higher Military Council,” is part of it. He is trying to push aside Col Asaad of the Free Syrian Army and seems to have gotten the backing of the SNC, or at least some of it.

Other prominent members of this new “Transitional Council” are Shaikh Ibrahim bin Abd al-Aziz al-Z’ubi, the Director General of “The Liberal Syrian Party,” and Ausama Mardini, Director General of “The National Front for Salvation and Change.”

Although Syria’s Kurds have a long history of opposing the central government in Damascus, they have so far refrained from widespread, proactive participation in the ongoing rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime. However, if they continue to limit themselves to being mere spectators to the unfolding drama, they may well find themselves deprived of any long-term political gains in a post-Assad Syria.
..
Adding to this fear is the Kurds’ unease with Turkey’s influence over the Syrian National Council, the rebels’ Istanbul-based government-in-exile. As long as the Kurdish issue in Turkey is not resolved and decades-old fears on the part of the Turkish political establishment of a pan-Kurdish drive for independence are not ameliorated, Syria’s Kurds cannot look upon Ankara’s role favorably. Absent unequivocal guarantees from Syria’s Sunni elites, the Kurds in Syria appear to have concluded that it would be irrational to back the council wholeheartedly.

It is possible, however, that the Syrian Kurds are making a strategic miscalculation.

…”[Israel] should look at Syria and see Syria as the Achilles heel of Iran. It is a great opportunity, an enormous opportunity, and this is where the strategy of the Israeli government should be,” former Mossad Chief Ephraim Halevy said at the Herzliya conference, the annual confab of Middle East security players and watchers, held in early February…

… The Arab League was used to prevent the European movement. It was used to conspire against Turkey during the Rabat meeting under the title of the “Arab solution” that aimed at keeping the Turks away. The Turks got angry and said frankly “we will leave you to resolve it”, although they were aware that no country is capable of confronting the Syrian regime except Turkey.

Is Israel being deliberately indecisive on whether or not to support the Syrian opposition?

Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of (humanitarian) war. That, at least, is what much of the U.S. policy elite seems to be pushing for these days in Syria. That many of the “permahawks,” like Fouad Ajami, Max Boot, and Elliott Abrams, who championed the George W. Bush administration’s decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein, are now calling for supporting the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship should come as no surprise to anyone….

Comments (142)

Observersaid:

So? what is new in this. Will have another logorrhea on the comment section of no consequence.
The only difference in the abhorence of dictatorship that we are witnessing between Bahrain and Syria is the degree of awfullness.
If one is Fredo Corleone, the other is Tony Clemenza.

There is no such thing as Alqaida, there exist only one group called Alciada. It is proven that Bin Ladin was until his death in 2001 a prime CIA asset, this is confirmed by high ranking CIA official after his release from jail on prompt up charges. Don’t believe for one moment that Zawahiri is free or free willing man, he is under CIA protection no doubt, otherwise he is dead man and a fake look alike is reading the CIA script on camera. If Zawahiri is alive and free man, PROVE IT by means other than using make up and costume artist, send a living person DNA sample to independent research and investigative team to prove living person. Then equally confirm the man is fee willing somehow.

Clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters in Bahrain have intensified as the first anniversary of the country’s uprising draws closer, signaling that limited efforts toward national reconciliation are failing.
Some opposition supporters are vowing to mark the February 14 anniversary by marching back to the original site of their protest movement – the symbolic Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama that has since been turned into a restricted military zone.

Riot police used tear gas to stop demonstrators from reaching the site over the weekend.

Violence in areas outside the capital has increased substantially in recent weeks, with a growing number of activists throwing stones and fire bombs at security officers and burning tires to block roads.

The government and the main opposition al-Wefaq party have condemned the violence, but radical figures from both sides of the conflict appear to be inciting further attacks.

Most pro-reform protesters in Bahrain are Shi’ite Muslims. Shi’ites make up nearly two-thirds of the country’s population of 1.2 million and say they are marginalized by the ruling Sunni minority.

According to Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, an international media adviser at Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority, the prolonged unrest is deepening divisions between the two communities.

“We have seen an emergence of a political Sunni coalition, who have also become now very vocal, so now we’re actually dealing with two camps that are quite polarized,” said Khalifa.

A Manama resident, who would speak only on condition of anonymity, described how many Sunnis have come to regard their Shi’ite compatriots.

“We don’t want to live with them anymore. We don’t want to sit with them. We don’t want to work with them.”

…In September 1982, President Ronald Reagan authorized the deployment of up to 1,800 Marines to Lebanon as part of a Multinational Force (MNF)—consisting of French, Italian, and later British troops—“with the mission of enabling the Lebanese Government to resume full sovereignty over its capital, the essential precondition for extending its control over the entire country.”

In a diplomatic note exchanged between Washington and the nascent government in Lebanon, it was agreed that the MNF would fulfill its mission by serving as an “interposition force at agreed locations and thereby provide the Multinational presence requested by the Lebanese Government.” Soon after the first Marines arrived at Beirut International Airport, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger was asked to clarify the scope of the U.S. military’s mission, to which he replied: “What we need is a multinational force until certain conditions have been achieved. Nobody knows when those conditions can be achieved. It is not an open-ended commitment.”
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Another idea—never pursued, but worth highlighting given the demand of many political leaders for Syrian president Hafez al-Assad to be removed from power—was developed in a NSC paper entitled, “The Destabilization of Syria.” According to David Wills’s unmatched history of the era, The First War on Terrorism: Counter-Terrorism Policy during the Reagan Administration:

“When Assad challenges Israel and the Marines in Lebanon, he knows that if Israel attacks him it cannot occupy all of Syria. Assad feels he can always retreat to the North and set up a smaller state and with stronger Alawite control. However, if Turkey is brought into the calculations of Rifaat [Assad] (the real power in Syria) and Hafez, their calculations will be totally different and would be impossible to add up without losing their power. If Syria is attacked by Turkey from the north the Alawite stronghold will be gone at the start and Assad and his supporters will have to fall back on an ocean of hateful Sunni moslems (sic) in the south where they will be eaten like lost sheep. Therefore the pressure on Syria should come from Turkey and not from the Marines and or Israel.”

Making “Al-Qaeda ” responsible only serves the propagand of the Syrian State tv. Even the most powerful intelligence agency wouldnt declare “Al-Qaeda” responsible , just 5 mins after the bombing…without any profound investigation ?? what good fortunteller the regime is .. quite astonishing isn´t it

This video exposes the propaganda, even the most ignorant supporter of the regime knows who´s behind this 😉

Since when are tv-employes allowed to directly change and touch the bombing site ..If you want to decieve us , but at least try to suceed in this my dear “دكتور “

The truth is I too don’t want to live in a neighborhood where shabeeha live. I don’t want to send my kids to same schools where shabeeha send their kids. I don’t want to eat in the same restaurants, sit with them, or work with them. Negative emotions after witnessing or suffering brutality are inevitable. People are capable of extreme love and extreme hate. This is the nature of human beings. And Bashar al Assad will go in the history books as the human monster who killed the Syrian identity in us.

The image the world is getting from Syria as a country and from syrians in the regime in particular is so negative, pathetic, displeasant, horrorous and vile that it will take long years before travellers and tourists begin to come to Syria for pleasure and for enjoying what was mistakenly supposed to be an oasis of reformism, coexistence and security in the Middle East.

Once again, my sincere congratulations to Mr. Assad, you have done the job for Israel and all Syria enemies. Only the people of Syria can, with its blood, tears and sweat, reconstruct this country to be a modern and peacefull place to live in.

It reminds me of when the American School of Damascus was closed by King Assad Reformer The Second, forcing all sons of his bussinessmen friends, and diplomatic ¨colleagues¨ to fly to their countries or to follow up studies in Beirut, Cyprus, Amman, etc.

The multinational New World Order, led by the Anglo-American axis and Israel (spearheaded by the UN), are preparing a final conquest of the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, with nuclear world war implications.

Syria and Iran are being relentlessly destabilized. CIA operations have been continuous for months and years. Two nations are targeted to fall sequentially, as part of one agenda.

About 50 dissidents were gathered there, some communicating with commanders in the field via Skype, others coordinating the smuggling of medical supplies and fighters across the border.

They map out plans and advise fighters, sometimes after consulting with fellow operatives in Jordan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the dissidents said.

But so far, they have received no material support from other governments.

“We’re an orphan group with a fighter surplus, but a serious deficit in weapons, ammunition and funding to finance our military operations against Assad’s criminal army,” said the man who asked to be identified as “The Doctor” — a nom de guerre he gained for his help in treating the wounded before he fled Syria.

The rebel fighters are mainly armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades stolen from the military or bought on the black market — or even from corrupt members of Assad’s military, “The Doctor” said.

Funding comes from exiles overseas. Mohammed Jebouri, a 40-year-old Syrian who normally lives in Oslo, Norway, said he raised around $20,000 last week from Syrian expatriates in Europe and the Middle East.

In the yard, three uniformed men were training an activist smuggled across the border, teaching him to organize protests.
…
The FSA’s true numbers are impossible to determine. A Jordan-based Western diplomat, who monitors developments in Syria, estimated it has about 20,000 followers, a third of what the group claims to have. The diplomat spoke on condition of on anonymity because he is not allowed to make press statements.
…
Now the conflict is entering a more international phase as the West and Arabs try to help the opposition. That could push the conflict into an even more sectarian turn as alliances form. Majority Sunni states such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf monarchies are lining up behind the mostly Sunni Syrian opposition. Russia and China are sticking by Assad, along with Shiite Iran.

A case is being built to justify a Libya-style military intervention in Syria, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The FM warned against attempts to exclude Damascus from international peace efforts.

­Lavrov wondered at the Arab League’s decision to suspend its observer mission in Syria. In January, the Arab League chose to freeze the mission over the resurgence of violence in the Arab country, dubbing their peace attempt “a failure.”

“Instead of expanding and boosting the mission, they say now that the mission is no use, and they need a joint effort with the UN. And that this should not be an observer mission, but rather peacekeeping forces,” said Lavrov.

Nothing is wrong with peacekeepers, except for the fact that they will be commissioned to protect civilians and ensure safe passage for relief aid, continued the FM, – which means they will have to be equipped with military hardware.

“It means a mandate to use force in order to protect civilians, too,” he added.

“We have had civilians protected in Libya and know the results,” Lavrov noted, referring to the all-out war between NATO air forces and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s troops, which toppled the Libyan regime and led to Gaddafi’s brutal assassination.

It is no wonder that Syria has rejected the push for UN peacekeepers, saying such a move would violate its sovereignty, concluded Lavrov. The League came up with an initiative that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad could not help turning down.
­How inclusive is the Syria Friends club?

As Washington, the Arab League and some EU countries call to create a “Friends of a Democratic Syria” working group, Lavrov is unsure how balanced an approach such a group would have.

“The idea of creating a group, where the Syrian opposition is welcomed while the official regime is not, is nothing but an attempt to make the international community take sides in the conflict,” Lavrov told a press conference in Amsterdam.

“Everyone agrees that the Syrian national dialogue should be comprehensive, but still some of our partners insist that the Syrian government cannot be part of it. These are incompatible; the dialogue is either inclusive or without the Syrian government.”

Lavrov has once again called on the international community to find ways to end the violence carried out both by Assad’s government and the armed insurgency. The irregular pro-government militias on the ground should also be included.

“We are trying to find out if the Syrian National Council and other political groups have any influence at all on armed opposition group, such as the Free Syrian Army. But we are told they have no influence. We should understand who controls these fighters in this case,” Lavrov said.
{..}

If you are middle age male, please take Aspirin today 325 mg. I fear that one of the article Zoo posted earlier in regard to someone who converted to Islam may adversely affect your physical and psychogic health. Aspirin protects the heart.

Anyone knows which countries have ‘temporarily’ recalled their Ambassadors or Consuls in Syria and which Embassies have definitely closed their embassies and consulates in Syria?
Also which countries have expelled the Syrian ambassador and close the embassy.
The media reports are very contradictory.

I guess that if there is a presence of the majorities of the foreign embassies, it is a sign that the legitimacy of the current government is still accepted by the international communities, with a few exception.

Back to the corridor, not of the UNSC, but to Turkey protected by NATO.

A responsibility to Syria: set up a humanitarian corridor
Feb 15, 2012
Anthony Elghossain is an attorney with an international law firm based in Washington,DC.
Firas Maksad is a political consultant on the Middle East based in Washington, DChttp://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/a-responsibility-to-syria-set-up-a-humanitarian-corridor#page2
…
In one viable and timely course of action, a multilateral coalition would establish a protected humanitarian corridor along the Syrian-Turkish border. Western diplomats, led by French Foreign Minister Alan Juppe, previously suggested such a move, but later decided to focus their efforts on the now-faltering Security Council process.

It’s time to revisit that option. Syrian refugees fleeing violence and destruction could find shelter and medical care in such a corridor. Moreover, the lack of a Benghazi-style enclave has thus far hindered more advanced steps to assist Syrian civilians and military defectors. A corridor protected by Nato, Arab states and Turkey would create the needed space to consider the way forward, while protecting civilians.
{…}

The opposition is constantly asked to offer guarantees to minorities who fear revenge for these actions, for the killings and shelling, for four decades of humiliation. The opposition should take a pledge that simply says: “We will treat you better than you treated us.”

But the menhebaks won’t believe it. Psychopaths and others with dark souls can never believe in the goodness of others. They think everyone is out to get them: a global conspiracy was hatched because Assad’s Syria is so perfect. This perfection can be viewed above, or in the thousands of other examples, or in the dungeons of Tadmur prison, where even a Christian man spent hellish years because they thought he was from the Muslim Brotherhood.

So Assad and his supporters will continue with the killing and torture because that’s all they know how to do. In the words of Professor Landis on March 23 on how the regime will respond to Daraa: “the government is going to do what it always does, which is brutalize the people, kick down doors, and drag some people to jail” in hopes that the problem will go away.

After almost eleven months of killing by the regime and the crisis is worse than ever. Menhebaks think if we continue with the same tactics and just let Bashar finish his term, and another ten years under the new election laws, then by 2024 we will have a great country. Sounds like the definition of insanity.

Bronco
USA Closed
Germany Closed
France, No ambassador, still open
UK, No ambassador, still open
Japan, still open
Canada, No immigration department only the visa department still open with only couple employees still working there.
Italy, No ambassador, still open
Netherlands, Closed
The rest of the EU embassies are still open with their ambassadors.

Turkey, still open with the ambassador, I think.

Morocco, no ambassador since Nov.
Qatar, KSA, Bahrain, Closed, the rest of the Gulf states, open but no ambassador.
Tunisia and Libya, the Syrian government asked them to close and leave.

Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and the other couple Arabic embassy are still open with ambassadors.

Syrian ambassadors
Tunisia, Libya, Kuwait is closed no ambassador.
KSA and Qatar most probably no Syrian ambassador but I didn’t read any where is the Syrian ambassadors left or not.

Another dumb video posted by Halabi. Do we look stupid? That was clearly some of the worst acting ever, and Syria has known its good share of bad acting. How do we know these guys are shabbi7a? Is it because of the bad improvisation where at 2:22 the guy says “if you admit it is impossible that I hit you even once” (yeah, it sounds just as retarded of a statement in Arabic as it does in English, for those of you who can’t understand Arabic). Is it because they are wearing widely available camouflage dress? Is it because the one guy has a min7ibbak shirt that anyone can find anywhere in Syria and Lebanon? Is it because they like to look at the camera to make sure it’s pointed at them as they hit those kidnapped civilians? Hmm… wait I know! It’s because the guy pronounces the letter Qaf `Alawi style, right?

You’re free to insult your own intelligence, but stop trying to insult ours.

March 14 salutes the Syrian opposition
February 15, 2012 01:54 AM
By Van Meguerditchian
The Daily Star
…
Although no officials from the opposition Syrian National Council attended the commemoration in Beirut, the SNC sent a formal letter to the March 14 coalition announcing their readiness to open a new page in relations between the countries after the collapse of the Syrian regime.

Kataeb (Phalange) Party leader Amin Gemayel said the popular uprising that took place in Beirut after Hariri’s assassination inspired many people in the Arab world who have taken to the streets in the past year demanding a transition to free and democratic political systems.
…
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea praised demonstrators in Syrian cities. “We salute you Homs, we salute you Deraa, Idlib, Zabadani, Hama … Duma and Jisr al-Shoughour,” said Geagea in his speech.

“The brutal killings of innocent protesters in Syria are being justified under the pretext of resistance as happened and is still happening in Lebanon, whenever needed,” said Geagea, drawing a wave of applause and cheers from the crowd.

“I call on the world powers and especially countries in the region to join their efforts and put an end to the bloodshed in Syria, to end the shelling and killing of Syrians,” the LF leader said, adding that the Syrian people should decide their fate with freedom and dignity.

Geagea also criticized ministers within the Lebanese government for what he described as taking orders from the Syrian regime to arrest Syrian refugees in the country. “While many commanders within the Syrian army are refusing to follow the regime’s orders, some within the Lebanese government are competing to fulfill the regime’s demands,” Geagea said.

Following Geagea’s speech, a letter from the Syrian opposition was read by the March 14 General Secretary Fares Soueid. “The Syrian National Council salutes the martyrs of the Cedar Revolution, the SNC considers your [Lebanese] victory against Assad’s army as the first blow to this regime,” said the letter.

“Assad’s regime will ultimately collapse and Syria will have the best relations with Lebanon, a relation based on brotherly ties not based on slogans that the regime had adopted,” said the letter.

The SNC also said it vows to stand by Lebanon’s independence. “We reject the lies of the regime regarding terrorist groups in Lebanon … we don’t need to use Lebanese territories in our struggle against Assad.”

@ TARS: Bahrain withdrew its ambassador from Damascus in August. Here’s a comment by the king of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa published on 13 Feb 2012:

Question: “What would you tell Syrian President Bashar al Assad were you to meet him?”
King of Bahrain: “The best advice for him is from the Syrian people.”
Question: “Do you think he should step down?”
King of Bahrain: “Who am I to tell him to step down? This is up to the Syrian people.” http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,814915,00.html

In the eyes of most of the outside world Bashar’s legitimacy is up to the people of Syria, not up to the outside world. In the eyes of most Syrians the current government in Syria is legitimate. If most Syrians change their minds about that then, and only then, the government will be ousted.

The only way the Syrian government could loose its legitimacy is through an UNSC resolution. The GA and other meetings are just consolation prizes for the frustrated Qatar with no implications except throwing more oil on the fire.

Judging by the fact that the “human shields” are all fit young men (no women, children or elderly), its possible they are prisoners, possibly captured insurgents, military deserters or even criminals. But from this vantage point, there’s no way to tell. (the actual article or post by Thomas Pierret isn’t linked to here at SC, unfortunately)

The SNC is begging for recognition and despite heavy petting with lebanese war criminals like Geagea and Amin Gemayel, Lebanon said: Sorry NO.
The SNC members will soon need psychological support, too many rejections…

Watch the video at the top of this page. The narrator is so hysterical that he can’t stop speaking fus7a, and at around 00:47 it seems like he reveals an Egyptian-like accent (correct me if I’m wrong) when he talks about the “world watching” bla bla bla.

Iran gave Syria $1 billion to aid regime against sanctions, documents reveal
By Lisa Daftari
Published February 14, 2012

The documents, obtained by Haaretz News, reveal that Iran has given the Syrian regime more than $1 billion to help relieve pressures of an international oil embargo and other restrictive measures on travel and trade through its central bank.
…
Currently, the U.S., Turkey, European Union and Arab League have imposed crippling sanctions on Syria’s trade, banking and oil exports in order to deter its massacring of citizens.

A popular global hacking group called Anonymous leaked the documents through a cyber-hacking of the Syrian president’s office email server.

According to Haaretz, the account belonging to the minister of presidential affairs, Mansour Azzam, included two documents signed by him dealing with relations between Syria and Iran.

The documents, written two months ago and detailing conversations between Iranian representatives visiting Syria, repeatedly refers to Syria’s wish to “learn from the Iranian experience in this area.”

The documents delineated ways in which the Islamic regime, which is currently struggling financially under severe internationally imposed economic measures as well, could aid Syria in bypassing sanctions.
…
According to the leaked documents, Iran’s delegation that traveled to Syria announced its allocation of $1billion to Syria in exchange for basic food items, such as meat, olive oil and fruit.

This coincides with Iran’s recent move to barter with trade partners to import basic food items. Iran is likewise experiencing the harsh economic effects of international sanctions and has not been able to maintain its usual positioning on the global market.

The Iranian delegation also discussed ways it could help the Syrians continue to export oil despite the embargoes. The Iranian regime promised to monitor the buying of 150,000 barrels of oil per day from Syria for a year “to use it domestically or resell it to others,” the documents stated.

Pierret’s analysis of the video is, at best, incredibly stupid. Human shields aren’t very useful when they’re *behind* what you want to protect. When I finished watching the video, I was very confused about what I had just watched. It was very strange, but definitely not footage of human shields.

By the way, out of curiosity, do you know what tank that is? It seems a little different in terms of armor.

The international community is refusing to admit what the Russians have been saying for the last few months: there is no other solution than the dialog between the opposition and the Syrian government. This is such an evidence and common sense that I doubt there is a any other unless the ‘friends of Syria’ are ready to wait for something miraculous to happen, like the collapse of the Syrian army or a coup d’etat.

Tara:
Darryl should take Aspirin 81 mg to protect his heart and not 325mg, I have to make such correction being a pharmacist with a cardiovascular specialty.
It is interesting how the regime is blaming AlQaeda and trying to gain international sympathy as another “poor, innocent, and liberal” regime being targeted by terrorism and Islamofascists,cheap trick, not even a four year old will fall for that, in fact even the Easter Bunny has more evidence of existence than the cosmic plot against Syria in which not only the West, AlQaeda,the greatest majority of Syrians are part of it but also the martians and the inhabitants of Saturn and Uranus

SANA 14 Feb 2012: “Armed terrorist groups on Tuesday detonated some citizens’ houses in different neighborhoods of Homs City to spread panic, film the explosions and send the footage to some satellite channels to accuse the Syrian army and law-enforcement members of committing such crimes. Authorities continue pursuing these groups’ members with firm determination to restore security and stability.” http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2012/02/14/400598.htm . Thus, the government is saying that general security has not been restored in Homs City. I interpret this to imply that the Syrian army is still not present in Homs City in sufficient numbers.

According to SHAM FM as reported at http://www.facebook.com/syria.news.news in Homs City neighborhoods today or yesterday:
() Clashes between the army and armed rebels in Baba Amr.
() Rebels attacked the security forces barriers in Bab AlSbaa’, Bab Tadmor and AlBayadhah.
() Rebels have built barriers in AlKhalidiyah.
() Rebels threw bombs in AlHamidieh and Wadi AlSayeh with damages limited to material only.

According to #31 JAD above quoting Al-Akhbar.com, the army is calling upon the remaining civilians in Bab Amr to leave the neighborhood within 48 hours. Sounds good to me. I hope the rebels stay and fight, though I don’t expect them to be that foolhardy. Surely it will be necessary for the army to be on the ground in Bab Amr in non-small numbers for months to preserve security. Same goes for the other trouble spots.

“Ok, let’s use the word “acceptance”. Would the vote in the GA convince you that the blue-eyed doctor is no longer accepted by the international community?”

Just have a look at the number of GA resolutions calling for Israel to withdraw from the Golan or occupied lands in Palestine then you will realize that the GA resolutions are nothing but gimmicks to have good conscience and calm the rage of some frustrated members.
A negative resolution against Syria will convince me that the UN GA is becoming even more irrelevant.

I promised the moderator so we are not directing the discussion at any particular person. Agree 81 mg is the usual maintainsnce dose. 325 mg is used for acute coronary syndrome. Just called a cardiologist freind. It all depends on the intensity of the underlying condition ie islamophobia. I am glad we have a pharmacist on board. We may need you to recommended treatment for acute psychotic depression when Bushbush falls.

Talking about Aspirin, those of you who have family history of a parent or a sibling who died from heart attack at an early age (ie 60s and below), please do not smoke and take an Aspirin and a Statin.

((219 from previous post. REVLON:
[CAUTION — please moderate use of sect/religious identifiers. There is a fine line between sectarian identification and unwelcome sectarian incitement]))

Dear Moderator,
I believe your note is uncalled for and amounts to censorship.
I made descriptive observations on an evidence; a video-clip in this case.
There was no insult to a person or a sect. There was criticism of a dishonourable practice sect based despotism and dishonourable practice decreed, commanded, and perpetrated by people of same sect.

Hundreds of comments have been posted on SC claiming, without even showing a single backing video of Salafists (Sunnis) beheading Christians, Alawis, or Assad army forces. Neither did I see you draw a fine line there, nor do I want you to. Leave the readers draw their conclusions.

My comments attempted to make two points about the presence and role of regime sectarianism in the daily practice of Assad-Makhloof headed, and Alawis guarded regime.

First, discrimination in jobs.
– Do you think Al Qsair has no able, qualified Sunnis to become a Generals and command the post in thei town.
– Or, would you point me to a single military, security, high or low public post in Alawis areas that is occupied by a Sunni?
– When a Sunni, Christian, and Alawis compete for a public post, who do you think would get the job?
The answer is Alawis, irrespective of credentials
If there was no Alawi applicant, it would be a Christian
If none, Sunni informant.

SECOND: treatment of prisoners.
I have invited viewers to compare the professional treatment of FSA soldiers of their prisoners, whom are being repeatedly accused under your watch, of being Salfists and AlQaida, henceforth Sunnis” with barbaric counterpart of Republican Guards whom are known to be Alawis and shown on myriads of video clips of speaking with Jabali accent, and claimed to be secular !

Which method of treatment of prisoners I was trying to promote would determine whether I was calling for prisoners rights to be held or abused; was that not clear to you?

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) — Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said here Tuesday that China’s position on Syria is aimed at safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East and is in line with relevant international principles.

China, he said, is willing to continue its constructive role in easing the tensions in Syria and in safeguarding peace and stability in the region.

Read your post # 22. You wanted to draw a conclusion about Assad acceptance by the international community based on the number of embassies still open in Damascus. I wanted to make it easy for you and point you towards the upcoming vote in the GA which will reflect the world\’s sentiment.

While the GA vote is not legally binding and does not carry a weight, it still is a powerful indicator of the corresponding countries stand on the issue.

What! The moderator has banned JAD at #35 for one week for posting something from assafir.com! And the moderator does not even take the time to write up a justification for it! That’s insane! No moderator at all would be better than this stupid new moderator!

Fire this moderator!

[NOTE from SC Moderation: Please see http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=13333&cpage=3#comment-294853 for reasonable guidelines for posting off-site sources. The suspended account has been warned several times to abide by the guidelines, to provide links, and to not post complete articles that are under copyright. The account is free to post on SC on 21 February 2012.

Comments that violate these guidelines may be edited or deleted at the discretion of the moderating team. Furthermore, commentators who repeatedly violate the site regulations may be warned, temporarily suspended from posting, limited to a set quantity of daily posts, or permanently banned. The moderators reserve the right to ban anyone who annoys or badgers them excessively.

Finally, we ask that commentators bear in mind that even well-intentioned humor or sarcasm can be “lost in translation” on an online discussion forum. As such, commentators should maintain a respectful tone with others and be tolerant of opinions that may differ from their own

Alright, if JAD did get very clearly warned more than once, then I suppose a ban is warranted, unfortunately.

I suggest a week is needlessly punitive, and a day would be sufficient to impress upon JAD that he has to comply with the rule to provide links, and the rule to not post complete articles that are under copyright.

Another thing about how moderation could be improved: The moderator should explain actions in writing to the rest of the board so we get to see the application of the rules more clearly.

An official said the move was blatant interference and encroachment upon its national sovereignty.He added that the real aim of some Arab League countries was to internationalize the Syrian issue and involve more foreign countries.The Syrian Deputy to the Arab League even describes the group’s decision as hysterical.Even the Syrian opposition seems to be split on the proposal.

The leader of one opposition party, Qadri Jamil, says that the Arab League’s proposal of sending joint peacekeeping forces to Syria is against the rule of international law and will contribute nothing to solving the crisis. However, another opposition party, the National Council of Syria, says it welcomes the proposal and is calling on the United Nations to pass the proposal.

Large portions of Syria say they oppose foreign intervention and believe that Syrians should be the ones dealing with the crisis.Some say they still believe in the government’s reforms and President Assad’s draft of a new constitution.

Danny was trying to make a point about how desperate the situation in Baba Amr is. Nobody is helping the civilians getting indiscriminately bombarded in there. What does it tell you if some people in Baba Amr would even accept help from Israel to stop the bombardment?
Hahahaa, the rebel Syrian officer calling Israeli official was funny, I don’t know how you believed that BS. It sounded so phony.
If the articles you linked about “opposition figures” asking for Israeli help are true then it’s their problem. It’s their individual position and they don’t have any real support on the ground, they don’t represent any Syrians with those statements.

Have you heard any chants by protesters calling for Israel to help? What about the SNC?

34. PIROUZ

For arguments sake, let’s say they were all captured insurgents. It’s still illegal under international law to use them as human shields.

37. SHABBI7

Yes you’re wrong. I don’t know how you heard an Egyptian accent.

40. SHABBI7
(I like the name btw)
Did you read what Pierret wrote?
“Since such an advanced tank is extremely well protected (it is impenetrable to RPGs), one of the only ways to destroy it is to detonate a massive roadside bomb (as Syrian insurgents did with some success in Homs, Rastan and Zabadani), but in this case it would kill all the hostages.”
The human shields don’t have to be standing in front of the tank to “shield” it from a “massive roadside bomb”. Do you have another explanation as to what was happening in the video?

The tank is either a T-72 or T-80 (very similar appearance) with ERA armor added for extra protection.

A final message to the Shabbi7a and men7ebakjiyye on this site; please stop quoting regime propaganda news, nobody believes that trash anymore.

فلاديمير بوتين يدعو الروس إلى المزيد من الجنس والتكاثر
This is interesting,since Putin himself has two daughters only, Russia population will decrease 50 million by 2050,and will be down to 110,million.
This means that immigration from Syria to Russia will probably increase, hopefully one day it will be named Arab Russian republic,and will join the Arab LeAGUE

Mawal95, thank you for your suggestions. JAD is a valuable, longtime member of the SC community. He is free to resume posting comments 48 hours from now. Moderators make mistakes, but please understand that moderation’s only purpose is to keep discussion flowing in a civil and responsible manner.

I quote here from a number of Dr. Landis’s posts:

I just want to thank those of you who are posting articles with the html links. Many hands make light work.

It is a great help to me, especially as my new semester is about to begin and I will have limited time to update SC.

UZAIR8, Some Guy in D, SYAU, Sy Expt. and particularly Beaware, I cannot thank you enough for formatting the content you bring in a way that makes it easy to collect it for a new post.

I get most of my stories by reviewing the comment section. Please remember to include the html link with the story. It is a big help.

I am sorry about the insults that have been cropping up among commentators. I will erase them and will ban Aldendeshe, but do hope that we can return to proper discourse about such important matters as the future of Syria.

I do ask people to contain their anger and be civil. This is just a blog, not a battlefield.

I asked you before, and all commentators, not to turn this section into the mere repetition of insults and invective. It is tiring and unconstructive.

I will try to pay greater attention. They will also be asked to leave the comment section if they persist in the name calling and repetitive provocations that diminish the comment section.

I wish I had more hours in my day to devote to moderating the comment section. My family left for Syria yesterday and I am trying to write other things than SC. I wish I could rely on everyone here to temper their anger and rein in their passions, even when they are being intentionally provoked.

Let us simply try to remain informative, by bringing new content to the forum.

Please no “takhween,” claiming that the other is not a real Syrian and absolutely no use of insults and personal attacks – which is what this has become.

We have been over this ground a thousand times. I am not asking Syrians to respect each other in their hearts or to be good Arab nationalists, but I do insist that discussion on these pages remain civil.

I do not restrict the content of the comment section, save to discourage insults, abuse, and attempts to drive out diversity or dominate with one line of conversation.

I agree with you about [XXX]’s articles. Many are simply mean and meant to provoke rather than promote constructive dialogue. Your patience is appreciated.

I have been unable to moderate the comment section because I am too busy, but a number of regular readers have complained about the rise in abusive language and aggressiveness in general from a number of commenters.

I do not want to micro-manage the comment section – especially at time when everyone’s emotions are on edge, but it is important not to chase away those who take offense at repeated aggressiveness.

We want to keep this a space that every feels comfortable commenting in.

All I ask is that comments stay away from insults and incitement or boring repetition. Adding content is the key to a good comment section. I am happy to have people pro and anti-gov arguments. Unlike most of the facebook pages, SC does not censure based on opinion or content.

Q: First, What is your comment on the report saying that China sells weapons to Syria directly or by way of Iran?

A: We cannot accept such a groundless accusation. The Chinese Government rigorously manages military export in light of China’s international obligations and domestic laws and regulations with a prudent and responsible attitude and has forged a whole set of strict management system.

As the West and Arab states consider offering direct support to Assad’s opponents, there are serious questions about whether any opposition group is prepared to take the helm after more than 40 years under Assad family rule.

Indeed, Assad’s greatest advantage has been the weakness and lack of unity among the disparate forces opposing him.

Also within opposition ranks are various ideologies and motivations, from secular forces to religious conservatives to outright radicals. Separately, there are worries that al-Qaida will take advantage of the chaos to increase its clout and carry out attacks on Assad’s regime.

There are new requirements mandated under new U.S. law that is not yet in effect, but better get used to it now than causing some liability issue. Also, Landis is getting to publish his first book and wants to promote selling it, through much more media profiles, he needs to clean and spiff up syriacomment so it look professional to his book buyers.

I rarely read books on politics or anything other than Aliens and Ancient history. The only set of books I personally bought, was not a gift given to me, were the late Zachariah Sitchin ones. But I will buy his just to see how off his writing will be and then I will mark it all in red ink and send him the book to read how the other Syrians, the non-Baathist Alawite point of views on Syrian history are. But he may surprise me with a picture that is more accurate than the one presented from his wife point of view. As you know, his wife is an Alawite Syrian, the daughter of a Baathist army man.

Look forward to read a zillion cliché like like this one: Alawites were downtrodden and poor with no opportunities made to them at all.

Few notes about the proposed constitution:
1. The committee that wrote the draft was appointed by Assad who is the subject of much of the opposition wrath along with the regime he is heading. Those who believe that the regime can change itself by introducing a constitution that limits the regime’s power have a lot of explaining to do.
2. The current regime and the currnt PA do not reflect the real balance of political forces on the ground,only a freely elected PA should have the power to introduce a new constitution.
3. Without a major reform in security forces and the judicial system,any new rules and regulations will remain as ” ink on paper”.

I know about her from rinse.com, but she missed a lot in her readings, she appear to me bordering the fortune teller in many of her writings that came through rinse.com. But like the Bibles, many of the writing proven to be very accurate to this day, and if you have the knowledge, you can view a map of events to the future, even 1500 years from now. So not necessarily everything written by the people who cross the line of our dimension to get information is all inaccurate, and it may be accurate but the message get scrambled during the transfer.

The friends of Syria meeting will issue some decisions I believe will include
1) support the opposition, this to me means supply the opposition with arms and money.
2) will support forming Arab army to help the opposition, ,probably will agree to Turkish help, this will take time to develope, while during 1916-1918 Arab liberation of Damascus was successful,I think the time required and the logistic ,most likely make such endeaver very difficult.
3) work on change the goverment in Lebanon(easily can be done), and the same in Iraq(this will be difficult), this will isolate Bashar .
The Assad army is getting tired,and loosing morality, ,encouraging defection will reduce the army to less than 100,000, and this make the change possible in short time.

@74 MAJD
How many decades should we wait for all that you exalting to develop? March 15 is coming and this day will be my 59th birthday. If my 60th birthday comes in and nothing new in Syria…well, will just wait.

End of game
After Terrorists in Bab Omer terrorized Homs and all Syria,killed and kidnapped,lied….after killing Sari Saoud and George Gharam and lying and filming them and staging shows…just befor they go to hell they have been left with this to film:

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said he remained involved in “quiet diplomacy activities” with Syrian President Bashar Assad over the power struggle that has cost more than 5,000 lives over the last 11 months.

“What we really need to do is exclude military intervention from our side,” Ihsanoglu told the National Press Club of Australia during a visit to Canberra as a guest of the Australian government.

Ihsanoglu, who was born in Egypt and lives in Turkey, said the lesson from conflicts in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia was that outside military intervention “did not bring any good to the people of those countries and to the region … and to the world at large.”

The new constitution proposed recently says.SYRIAN ARABIC REPUBLIC,contrary to what has been mentioned before who said the new name is Syrian republic,It also says SAR is part of the Arabic nation.
So many fabrications were said before,I think the moderator should punish those who spread false informations, by banning them for a period of time
Would the new constitution be explained to the people before 26 of february?
Limiting the term to 5 years, does that mean Bashar term ends in june 2012?
would the new constitution worth the paper it will be written on, or they will not abide by it?
I think general election,honest one, must precede the election of the new president,the current people assembly does not represent the people,.

Amir
I believe Israel have proclamatin of independence which is close to constitution, the lack of constitution in Israel is due to conflict between secular and religious groups, correct me if I am wrong.

You are partly right. There’s a debate going on in Israel for many years now, about the necessity of a constitution. We have ‘Basic Laws’, which are one step before a constitution.
Also we have a strong and independent supreme court, which can overrule undemocratic laws.
.

Jad is banned until 21st Feb??
Who then can I ask for -a link to the Russian and Emirati foreign affairs ministers press conference in Moscow 2 days ago and -Mahmud Abbas’s spech at the Arab league council in Cairo 4 days ago ?
Please Jad, log in with another email!!

One of its provisions is that a candidate for President must get the endorsements of 35 MEMBERS of parliament not 35 percent of the members of parliament as previously leaked. The parliament has 250 members today. Article 60 of the new Constitution says ordinary law shall determine the number of members of parliament.

Article 60 also says that at least half the members of parliament shall be representatives of “workers and small farmers” and ordinary law shall define what that shall mean in practice. Can any of you experts explain what that is intending to say?

The new constitution is a major disappointment and filled with contradictions. I was hoping Syria will finally join the rest of the civilized world by becoming completely secular. I think the government has dropped the ball on this by making religion a center piece for the executive and judicial branches. Article 3 and article 8 clearly contradict each other. On one hand, the president has to be Moslem and the source of legislation must be Islam; but on the other hand parties cannot be organized based on religious principles?!?

If the government thinks accommodating religious elements will make them happy, they must not know Islamist well. The ciaos in Syria is as bad as it has ever been and nothing will make the Islamists happy, short of complete annihilations of “Kuffars”, so why not go all the way and make a constitution that will satisfy secularists, minorities and rational Moslems. They should have just adopted the American constitution, word for word. It’s the best in the world. I’m voting against it, unless they drop those regressive articles.

and those articles which are the most important are kept under chapter 2 and can therefore be changed in the parlament. The majority of constitutions in the world do sanction the change of those basic human rights.

As much as the Assads progressed their own sunnisation, the article which asks that the president must be a muslim is absurd.

[Note: I posted this in the wrong post earlier. I couldn’t find the comment and was suspecting it got deleted for some reason..lol.]

Without belittling the sacrifices made by the Bahrainis, would it be fair to say that if they showed half of the determination, commitment and willingness to sacrifice that the syrians have shown, they may have achieved alot more than they have? At least it wouldn’t have been as easy for the rulers and Saudi to suppress the uprising.

Having said that it is unfair to criticise or expect such huge demands.

In fact we should aknowledge the praiseworthiness of the sacrifices of the Syrian people. MashaAllah.

BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) — Syria staunchly opposed the use of international peacekeepers but would welcome observers to its troubled territory, the newly appointed Syrian Ambassador to China said on Wednesday.

Replacing the withdrawn Arab League observer mission to Syria with a joint peacekeeping force comprised of Arab and United Nations forces to monitor a ceasefire between the rival sides was totally unacceptable, Ambassador Imad Moustapha told Xinhua.

But he said Syria welcomed observer missions from the international community to conduct a fair and objective investigation of what was going on in Syria.

The peacekeeper plan was proposed by an Arab League foreign ministers meeting to the U.N. Security Council earlier this month.

As the only Arab country adopting secularism, Syria was ahead of most Arab countries in terms of democracy. It implemented freedom of religion and its vice president was a woman, Moustapha said.

5 year old Aya bakkour is another victim of Wa2dulfitnah operation that was declared by Jr as early as late march 2011.

Her mother sid families were encouraged by government forces to leave there homes for safety reasons, and in order for them to search and destroy, but once on the streets they were sprayed with bullets by Assad forces.

AlFatiha upon Aya’s soul,
May God bless her family with solace and empower them with fortitude.

“They should have just adopted the American constitution, word for word. It’s the best in the world.”

The founding fathers of the USA constitution were Christians and the US Constitution reflect judeo-christians values that are not necessarily universal.
Maybe the Syrians living in Syria are more attached to their arabic and moslem roots than the ones who are living in the USA and who would prefer to return to an americanized version of Syria.

The writer is a senior fellow at the US Institute of Peace and a member of the opposition Syrian National Council

As it is not copyrighted like the article, this is a comment from a reader

“Under Serbia Kosovo was run as an apartheid system where non-Serbs (the majority occupants) were discriminated against in every area. That is what led directly to the conflict. There were attempts to gain a peaceful and negotiated settlement at Ramboiullet – that failed, mostly due to intransigence from Milosevic. The US led intervention was designed to try and stop a guerilla campaign that was spiralling into an all out war. The power to stop the conflict was always with Milosevic, and he refused.

Kosovo was about as successful as a peace intervention can be, and the economic challenges facing Kosovo now are not much different to what it faced before the war. It is bordering the most poor countries of South Eastern Europe and is still in a transition phase. It would be better for it to have full recognition as a sovereign state globally, and for Serbia to accept this.

Anybody who thinks the International Community has the means energise the economy of a war-torn country with ongoing ethnic tensions is living in a fantasy world. The best we can do is nip small scale conflicts before they spiral out of control into full scale wars. After that, you’re looking at about two decades or more of peace-building within the country where younger generations are raised without hatred for their neighbours. Kosovo, Serbia and the broader region there have a long hard road ahead of them, and only they can improve – or detiortate – the situation for themselves.”

An economic blockade can defeat President Bashar al-Assad
Syria’s critics should not be mesmerised by the Russian and Chinese UN vetoes.

By Malcolm Rifkind

quote:

“I have had to meet some really nasty dictators over the years. Most of them, such as Fidel Castro and Robert Mugabe, could be unexpectedly amiable, with an infectious sense of humour, and I had to remind myself of their vicious treatment of their own people. The most sinister, however, was Hafez al-Assad, whom I met in Damascus in 1995. ”

The Bahrainis weren’t as fed up as the syrians. The peaceful protests refused to buckle to the brutal onslaught.

Understand one thing. Lets go along with this idea of ‘armed gangs’ and ‘terrorists’ for a minute. These are not a threat to the regimes grip on power and not for one second does anyone believe that the regime regards ‘them’ as a threat to its rule. A nuisance at worst. A security issue.

What was and still is a real threat to the regimes grip on power is the growing peaceful protests. Even the regime knows this deep down. It talks about terrorism and armed gangs yet it’s actions are all about suppressing the peaceful protests in the towns and cities aswell as beating civilians on the street and imprisoning tens of thousands.

Right from the start there was no doubt the regime was going to respond in any way other than the violent, fascist and brutal one. The tried and tested method of over 40 years. A formula that has been very successful and one they (the security services) are immensely proud of and have great confidence in (arrogance). While the other uprisings were taking place the regime already planned its responce but realised it would need a pretext/justification so it already prepared this armed gang/terrorist narrative.

UTICA, NY – While 65% of likely US voters think that the situation in Syria has become a civil war, support of US military action as part of a collation is split, a new IBOPE Zogby survey finds.

Forty five percent would support American military action in Syria as part of collation (11% strongly and 34% somewhat), and 46% would oppose (22% strongly and 24% somewhat), but voters overwhelmingly oppose the U.S. striking out alone (80% to 14%).

The February 10-13 interactive survey finds the level of awareness about current unrest in Syria is very high at 89%. Opinion about the current level of US involvement is split, with 30% saying it is just right, 29% saying it is not enough and 14% saying it is too much. More than one in four (26%) are not sure.

A total of 65% say Syria is important to US security, and 21% say it is either not at all important (7%) or somewhat unimportant (14%.)

There are partisan differences on some of these questions. For example, among Republicans 25% of Republicans would support US military action without participation of a coalition, compared to just 6% of Democrats. Twice as many Republicans (41%) as Democrats (22%) say current U.S. involvement is not great enough.

IBOPE Zogby International conducted an online survey of 2,218 adults. The margin of error is +/- 2.1 percentage points. A sampling of IBOPE Zogby International’s online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the US, was invited to participate. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, gender and education to more accurately reflect the population.

DAMASCUS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) — Five law-enforcement personnel, including a colonel and a first lieutenant, were killed Tuesday in clashes with an “armed terrorist group” in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, state-run SANA news agency reported Wednesday.

The clashes, which occurred at the suburb of al-Attareb, also led to the killing of nine “terrorists” and the wounding of many others, said SANA.

In the central province of Homs, armed terrorist groups on Tuesday blew up a number of houses and attacked a college dormitory with mortars and guns, causing large damage to the buildings and spreading panic among the students, said SANA.

It said law-enforcement forces found a number of tunnels used by terrorists to smuggle weapons at Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs.

The terrorist groups exploded a number of houses to intimidate residents, the report said, adding that the blast was filmed and would be later broadcasted by some TV channels that were “partners in shedding the Syrian blood in an attempt to frame army men.”

This referendum and the election after 90 days. Russia and Iran travelled to Damascus to meet Assad after the UN veto. Perhaps they made clear to him the pressure they were feeling as a result of their maintaining the current support of his rule? He may have had to promise them something hence this referendum and the 90 day election.

Whatever. It’s gonna be rightly rejected for a number of reasons. On top of that it’ll give him another 3 months of breathing space.

Al-Assad received Sunday a copy of the draft constitution from the head of a national committee entrusted with drafting a new constitution, SANA said, adding that after the president review the draft it would be referred to the People’s Assembly before being put up for a referendum.

The Syrian president decreed the formation of a national committee on Oct. 15, 2011, to prepare a draft constitution within four months.

The committee members, including 29 academics, lawyers and opposition figures, have stressed that the new constitution was written in a way that would preserve the dignity and rights of the Syrian people, according to SANA.

According to the state television, the draft constitution contains 157 articles divided into six basic parts: rights and freedom, the rule of law, the state authorities, the constitutional court, the amendments of the constitution, and other general provisions.

It said the draft constitution stipulates that Syria’s political system is based on the principle of political pluralism and a democratic exercise of power through balloting boxes, and that any political activity or the establishment of parties and political gatherings should not be on religious, sectarian, tribal or factional basis.

The sunni rulers in Bahrain persistently refused to share power with the majority Shias, they called for a sunni foreign army to help them quell the uprisings equipped with the best anti-riots that exists made in UK and USA, they rased the Pearl square, they fired, tortured and emprisonned doctors. Yet the protesters remain admirably relentless and peaceful and did not ask for foreign help or arms. That is a noble revolution.

Anyway I wonder how you can judge who was more fed up that the others. You are neither in Syria, nor in Bahrain and you rely on news channels and we all know how impartial they have been about Bahrain, an ally to the USA and a US military base.

“And he defended the high number of royal family members in the cabinet, saying they received their posts because of merit. In addition to the prime minister and three of four deputy prime ministers, the Khalifas hold eight other portfolios, including finance, foreign affairs, interior, justice, and the royal court.”

I hope jad does not leave SC. Banning him for a week was clearly harsh and uncalled for,I understand the need to keep posts short and link articles and news to their original source.reducing the ban to 48 hours is a welcome compromise. Take a little break from posting,Jad,I did that few times.

I usually stay in a small hostel place, one of those near Tahrir, i feel they need customers.
I dont like to stay in those fancy places, but the garden restaurant in the Marriott hotel is a must, especially at night.
I am surprised though, flights are still full´at least on LH.

No. I would expect him to fall, but my analysis is that he is not going to fall so soon. I don’t know when, but I’ve been saying it time and again that the balance of power even now is still in his favor, unfortunately. He has the support of the military echelons, most of them are Alawite, but also Sunni and Christian [Syrians] support him, the middle classes, the new middle classes, also mostly Sunni, they support him because of interests, and many others who enjoy the reforms of the Baath party. Again, it’s a brutal regime, but it’s also good for the people and they support him. And many people don’t want chaos, and Christians for example are afraid that the Muslim Brotherhood will emerge and then they will be in trouble.

On the other hand, the opposition is very weak and divided. Say for example you have a mass defection of soldiers, most of them are Sunni – a defection with their tanks and artillery to the rebels, this can change the balance of power. But for the time being the Syrian free army is weak and divided, and there is no outside intervention as was the case with Libya. I want to remind you that in Iraq, Saddam Hussein was in a worse situation after ‘91. Kurdistan – also Iraq – was a no-fly zone, also the south was a no-fly zone and [Hussein] was in the middle and he survived; until 2002 when the Americans invaded, he was still there. And Bashar is in a better situation, he is also supported by Iran – a very powerful support, military and economic – also by military and diplomatic support of Russia, [and] Chinese diplomatic support. He is not in an ideal situation, but he can survive for quite a while. I don’t know for how long, it’s not a matter of weeks; it’s months, maybe a year or more. Again, if Turkey decides to intervene on behalf of NATO or something else, this can change the situation.

Firstly, the Humpty Dumpty scenario in which all his Shabeeha will not be able to put him together again.

Secondly, there is the ‘Leaning Tower of Piza’ scenario in which for a long time it will look like he is about to fall.

I say the humpty dumpty one.

EDIT: Actually I say both. For a while it will look like he is about to fall without falling and then all of a sudden …the humpty dumpty scenario. They wont be trying to put him together again as they will be running to the hills as fast as their legs can take them.

Rifat Assad executed Hama in 1982 and he is well hosted in London by NATO country I don’t see anyone from Hama or Human right activist or best the so called: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition activist group prosecuting Rifat in International court. With all the commotion in Syria numbers are in the vicinity of 6,000. 1982 goes up to 20000. So who got away Bashar or Rifat? And Not to mention American got a way with a lot; but they are the greatest nation.

Damascus, Feb 15 – An armed group attacked with explosives an oil pipeline in the Syrian city of Homs, which supplies Damascus, local media reported on Wednesday.

The TV channels Syria News and Addounia are broadcasting footage of the destruction caused by the explosion; and SANA news agency reported that the terrorist attack on the 12-inch-wide pipeline, near Baba Amr and al-Sultanieh neighborhoods, where armed gangs have taken cover in that city, occurred at 03:00 hours, local time.

Local authorities stressed that they are pursuing those groups, in which British and Qatari commandos operate, to restore security and stability in Syria, according to recent reports.

The oil pipeline is run by the Fuel Company of Homs and supplies the Adra stores, one of the main suppliers of the country that distributes diesel in Damascus and other towns in southern Syria.

In al-Zabadani, Harasta and in other areas in Damascus Countryside, peace and security have been restored, as Syrian forces completed a successful campaign against the armed groups. Meanwhile, the city of Homs is still a focal point of terrorist violence.

For eleven months, the Western powers and the Gulf States have lead a campaign to destabilize Syria. Several thousand mercenaries infiltrated the country. Recruited by agencies in Saudi Arabia and Qatar within the Sunni extremist community, they came to overthrow the “usurper Alawite” Bashar al-Assad and impose a Wahhabi-inspired dictatorship.

Tara,
Thank you, love your wittiness and sense of humor
Clarification:
Aspirin 325 mg preferably chewed is administered during an acute coronoary heart attack and/or while in hospital, followed by Aspirin 81 mg daily as maintnenace dose…what this means for many of you who will suffer heart attacks when Bashar falls you may get a heart attack so invest in Aspirin it could save your life.

As for pharmacological therapies for Islamophobia, like all phobias these patients can respond very well to SSRI’s like Sertraline and Fluvoxamine…I have seen them cure fear of spiders and Yiikes spiders are definitely way more terrifying than all people including Muslims

on the treatment of the acute major depressive disorder that Basharophiles ( a term that I coined that is more powerful than Men7abakji )will suffer after his imminent fall I am affraid that even pharmacotherapy is not enough to help them , I can refer them to my brother who is a prominent psychiatrist in New York City..the million dollar question: Do they have insurance??